Clothing export growth accelerates

Since the second half of this year, the growth rate of my country’s apparel product exports has increased, among which the growth rate of woven apparel exports has been relatively obvious. Industry insiders believe that my country’s clothing exports have continued to rise, boosted by the gradual recovery of the international market economy and increased market demand.
Statistics from the General Administration of Customs show that from January to October 2014, China’s garment industry was operating generally smoothly, with the cumulative export volume of clothing reaching US$155.59 billion, a year-on-year increase of 6.7%, and the growth rate falling by 4.8 percentage points from the same period last year. The relevant person in charge of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Textiles said that since the second half of 2014, the international market has gradually recovered and increased demand has boosted the monthly export volume of clothing in July, August and September, all exceeding US$16 billion, with an average growth of 8.6%. Effectively boosted the annual export growth rate.
​Exports to Russia are growing rapidly
Data provided by the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Textiles shows that from January to October this year, the economies of major developed countries recovered, and demand in major textile and apparel import markets such as the European Union and the United States continued to pick up. my country’s clothing exports to the EU totaled US$38.58 billion, an increase of 17.1%, accounting for 24.8%; China’s clothing exports to the United States totaled US$28.28 billion, an increase of 8.5%, accounting for 18.2%. Affected by the shift in Japan’s procurement focus and the increase in consumption tax, exports to Japan have experienced continuous negative growth since February this year, with exports amounting to US$16.6 billion, a decrease of 11.2%, accounting for 10.7%. Mainland my country’s exports to Hong Kong continued to decline year-on-year, with exports of US$7.23 billion, a decrease of 15.4%, accounting for 4.6%. Industry insiders believe that as false trade arbitrage has been curbed this year, the amount of clothing exports to Hong Kong has declined.
The reporter learned that my country’s clothing exports to ASEAN were US$11.23 billion, a decrease of 1.5% compared with before. Among them, exports to Malaysia and Singapore dropped most significantly, down 20.9% and 11.5% respectively. Exports to Russia maintained rapid growth, with export volume reaching US$8.49 billion, an increase of 22%. In addition, exports to Mexico and South Korea grew rapidly, up 45.1% and 32% respectively; exports to Kazakhstan and Panama declined rapidly, down 17.2% and 14% respectively.
​Woven garment exports maintain growth
According to data provided by the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Textiles, from January to October this year, my country’s total exports of woven garments were US$64.46 billion, an increase of 22.8%, and the export volume increased by 26.4%. The total export volume of knitted garments was US$68.69 billion, a decrease of 5%, and the export volume decreased by 0.5%. Among them, the export value of cotton and silk knitted clothing continued to decline, down 8.4% and 83.5% respectively; the total export volume of fur leather clothing was US$2.7 billion, a year-on-year increase of 38.1%.
The relevant person in charge of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Textiles said that due to the cancellation of the cotton purchase and storage policy by the state, cotton prices have been declining, with a decrease of about 25%, and the prices of downstream products are in a downward range. The unit price of cotton apparel exports fell by 3.2%, causing total exports to fall by 3.7%, totaling US$54.53 billion. The unit price of chemical fiber garments fluctuated little. As the export volume increased by 18.1%, the total export volume increased by 17.9%, totaling US$61.21 billion.
In addition, in the first 10 months of this year, among the top five provinces and cities in my country’s clothing exports, Guangdong and Zhejiang’s exports were US$29.31 billion and US$27.93 billion respectively, a year-on-year increase of 8.9% and 5.4%, ranking the top two; Jiangsu’s exports were US$21.68 billion. U.S. dollar, a year-on-year increase of 5.4%, ranking third; Fujian and Shanghai’s exports were 14.51 billion and 11.94 billion U.S. dollars, respectively, an increase of 2.9% and 0.8%, ranking fourth and fifth. In addition, the export volume of Hunan and Guizhou grew rapidly, with an increase of 192.8% and 185.8% respectively; the export volume of Guangxi, Jilin, and Shanxi decreased rapidly, with a decrease of 31.6%, 34.9%, and 60.8% respectively.